To begin ...

As the twentieth century fades out
the nineteenth begins
.......................................again
it is as if nothing happened
though those who lived it thought
that everything was happening
enough to name a world for & a time
to hold it in your hand
unlimited.......the last delusion
like the perfect mask of death

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Demosthenes Agrafiotis: from Now 1/3

Translated from Greek by John Sakkis and Angelos Sakkis

8/24/1997Sunday

the week endsthe century endsthe millennium ends

cycles closecycles open

travelers to galaxies(microscales, macroscales)make the moments unbearableadolescence persistsin spite of all the confusionin spite of all the insolenceoutlet to old ageapprehension for the unavoidable

and the ones who have crossed the river and...........speak from the side of darknessand see specksconflagrations, flamesrecoiling, turbulencechimeras, flesh, agonies, pleasures

the luxury of obedience..................of disasterperhaps lighthearted insoucianceand likeinstructions iterated a thousand timesand the intention underestimates the discoveryit does not erase the road and the bordersand from the startsilence would be the easiest solution.

decision for the writingenigmaacceptanceso many excusesleave a slippery substratesubstrate.............................(Athens).

09/08/1997

fallthe prescribeddifficulty and in one momentthe critical points are movedrisky referencesnow the diagnosis triumphsso much timegreediness for nothingdisappearance of trust“good morning”“you are not in a position to…”center and peripherygalaxy and beacheswithout a safety net..................................(Athens)

NOTE. Demosthenes Agrafiotis was born on 28 December 1946 in Karpenissi of Evrytania, Greece. He is active in the fields of literature & the visual arts with books of poetry & exhibitions of photography, paintings, drawings, actions & installations, including a collaboration with Jerome Rothenberg, An Oracle for Delphi (Membrane Press, 1995). He has a special interest in the relation between art & new technologies, for multimedia or intermedia projects & also for performances. His essays are dedicated to analysis of different art forms as cultural phenomena. He has participated in various artistic activities, such as publications, small press initiatives, mail-art & alternative art projects. His magazine Clinamen (1980-90), co-published by Erato Publications in Athens (1991-1994), was active for over two decades as an amalgam of Greek poetry & art with new poetry & art from Europe & America. His second book to appear in English, Chinese Notebook, translated by John Sakkis & Angelos Sakkis, has just been published by Ugly Duckling Press, & he has continued over the years to be an active & influential figure in the European avant-garde. A complete translation of Now 1/3 is scheduled for early publication by BlazeVOX Books.

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A PROSPECTUS

In this age of internet and blog the possibility opens of a free circulation of works (poems and poetics in the present instance) outside of any commercial or academic nexus. I will therefore be posting work of my own, both new & old, that may otherwise be difficult or impossible to access, and I will also, from time to time, post work by others who have been close to me, in the manner of a freewheeling on-line anthology or magazine. I take this to be in the tradition of autonomous publication by poets, going back to Blake and Whitman and Dickinson, among numerous others.

[For a complete checklist of previous postings through January 12, 2012, see below. The slot at the upper left can also be used for specific items or subjects. More recent posts are updated regularly here.]